Chapter 169: Decay in the City

'Sir, I want to ask you something!' Han Songlin said, while tearing open a pack of cigarettes and handing one to the old man.

The old man tapped his pipe and glanced at Han Songlin. This was either a thief or a scoundrel, offering to help for no reason!

This young man looks quite good-looking.

After taking the cigarette, the old man didn't say anything, just looked at Han Songlin.

Han Songlin smiled bitterly to himself, this guy is quite something!

'Here, old man, let me light it for you.' Han Songlin took out a lighter from his pocket and lit the cigarette for the old gatekeeper.

The old man took a long, satisfying drag before saying, 'Young man, go ahead, what is it?'

'It's like this, sir, I want to ask you...' With that, Han Songlin glanced at the wooden sign hanging on the post with black letters on a white background.

Because no one had looked after it for a long time, the sign didn't look very shiny.

It was just as run-down as the factory.

'I want to ask you about the current situation at Xinxing Industries!'

'Alas, what could there be now?' The old man glanced at Han Songlin. Could this be someone sent down from above?

'After the factory stopped production, no one was left. Now I'm the one watching!'

Han Songlin was puzzled. 'Just you alone?'

'Ah, just me.'

Han Songlin didn't know what to say. The old man looked to be in his sixties.

Sixty-something, not exactly an age where you can't do anything.

In the countryside, many people in their seventies and eighties still have to work in the fields.

If you don't work, you don't eat!

Expect your children to support you?

Some children are filial, but there are also those who are worse than dogs and pigs.

'Sir, you should have retired by now, why are you working as a gatekeeper?'

The old man rolled his eyes. If he could retire and enjoy his retirement, who would want to work as a gatekeeper?

Han Songlin also realised that he had asked a rather stupid question.

'Elderly man, can I go in and have a look?'

The elderly man refused without hesitation: 'Go in? No way. The factory said that there is no production going on in the factory right now, so no outsiders are allowed in.'

He cursed under his breath, 'Damn you! When you picked up my cigarettes earlier, why didn't you say not to go in?

Han Songlin also thought to himself, if you want someone to do something for you and they don't agree, what's the reason?

The benefits you offer aren't great enough!

So, naturally, Han Songlin knew what to do.

He took out his wallet, which contained 200 yuan, and in front of the old man, he took the money directly out and said, 'Old man, this money, you take it to buy wine to drink, I'll go in and take a look, I won't take anything, look, is that okay?'

The old man stared at the money Han Songlin handed him, and his whole eye couldn't move away.

It's been a long time since he hasn't seen so much money.

'Hey, hey, it's not that I don't want you to come in, it's just that the leader asked me to!' While saying this, the old man took the money from Han Songlin's hand.

He was about to come out and open the door for Han Songlin.

A smile appeared at the corner of Han Songlin's mouth. This is indeed the case. In the world, many things can be solved with money.

If the problem is not solved with money, it means that not enough money was offered. Try offering a little more.

Just as Han Songlin was about to step inside, a small truck pulled up to the door and stopped.

A man stuck his head out of the window and yelled at the old man, 'Old Li, open the door!'

The voice was familiar!

Han Songlin couldn't help but turn his head to look, and he was stunned. He knew this person.

His name was Lai Hu, and he was known as Brother Hu in the underworld. He ran a teahouse and usually engaged in petty crimes and other shady activities.

'Hey, it's Boss Han!' Lai Hu had noticed a man standing at the entrance before, with an upright posture. He thought that person was just showing off at the entrance!

Lai Hu hated this kind of person the most. He dared to show off in front of him, looking for a beating!

In these days, it's really the case that if you don't like someone, you'll find something to get them.

Han Songlin surveyed Lai Hu, who was getting out of the car: 'Brother Hu, you're not running a teahouse anymore, you've changed careers and are running a transport business?'

This truck has an approved load capacity of five tonnes. Of course, the approved load capacity is always a number, and when hauling goods, there is no way it won't be overloaded.

No one wants a truck that can't be overloaded.

Besides, nowadays, there are no strict checks on overloading and the like.

Lai Hu rubbed his hands together and said, 'Of course I can, I'm just trying to make a living! Boss Han, what brings you here?'

Han Songlin did not reply to Lai Hu, but asked, 'What about you, here to collect goods?'

Lai Hu pointed at the person in the driver's seat of the car: 'This buddy owes me some money, so he is here to collect some scrap from the factory to pay off the debt.'

Scrap?

In broad daylight too!

That's really interesting.

How much of this factory can still be used?

'What does he do?'

'He is the head of the materials department.'

The Materials Department, just from the name you can pretty much guess what it does.

Han Songlin followed them in, and the old man stared at him before cautiously averting his gaze.

He was afraid that Han Songlin would notice him.

Han Songlin noticed the old man's expression, and his mouth twitched slightly. He threw the cigarette he was holding at him, saying, 'Old man, keep this cigarette and smoke it!'

Han Songlin watched Lai Hu and the section chief move things around in the warehouse, but he didn't try to stop them.

He also noticed something interesting: when the section chief assigned the tasks, he didn't move the precision parts.

Instead, he moved the big, clumsy things.

Are they going to sell these things for scrap metal?

Without caring, Han Songlin slowly wandered around the factory.

The entire factory building was full of the flavour of old factories.

Obviously, these factories had been built for quite some time.

Most of the walls of the factory were made of red bricks.

The roof is made of asbestos tiles, which should be grey-white but have turned grey-black.

Standing inside the factory building, if you look up, you can see that many of the roof tiles are already leaking.

In other words, the factory building, which lacks maintenance, is now beginning to fall into disrepair.

A few years from now, it may not be surprising if the entire factory building collapses.

Walking up to a concrete building, the sign for the R&D department hangs above the door.

Unfortunately, the door is now closed, so you can't see what's going on inside.

You can still faintly see the inside through the window, and Han Songlin is standing in front of the window, wondering what to think.

In Han Songlin's opinion, as a technology-based enterprise, the most important department in the company should be the technology research and development department.

Xinxing Industrial undoubtedly relies on technology to make a living, and it also has a technical foundation.

But what about now?

Han Songlin shakes his head and smiles bitterly, as if in this era, the degree of importance attached to technical personnel is not high.

On an open flat dam, there are hundreds of agricultural vehicles parked.

Han Songlin patted the agricultural vehicles, and even after being exposed to the wind and rain, there wasn't much rust.

The engines were in good condition, and after adding fuel, they should be able to start up smoothly.

It really made people speechless that so many agricultural vehicles were just left in the dam, exposed to the wind and rain.

Indeed, this bankrupt company always gave people a sense of decline.

From every aspect, it exuded a sense of decline.